Step 1: Design inspiration

My inspiration came from this table (pictured). Here's the blurb they use to describe it:

"Perfectly engineered truck, wheel and glass interplay, the 360 Table is a grown-up lazy susan that celebrates that instance of teenage rebellion. Taking seriously the claim that skating is a lifestyle, this piece accommodates and furnishes that life quite well."

But their version retails for $2000. And does not include the glass top, which will cost you another $100 or so.

I wanted one that met the following constraints:

Less than $100

Made from wood and parts available pretty much anywhere

Requires minimal power tools

Easy to assemble

I ended up spending around $70 for everything but the glass top. The glass put me over my intended budget by around $60. Had I waited for a good yard or estate sale, I imagine I could have gotten the glass much cheaper.

I purchased only from Anytown, USA stores. Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Amazon and Pier 1 (for the glass). No specialty shops. No exotic lumberyards. Nothing fancy. Just deck planks, a couple of cheapo complete skateboard sets, and miscellaneous fasteners.

I used a power drill and a miter saw and a palm sander. You could sand by hand if you had to or wanted the workout, but the other two tools are pretty essential. It's more trouble to get the proper handsaw for the finish work than it is to just ask a neighbor to borrow his miter saw. Or chopbox. Or whatever you want to call it.

After cutting and drilling, assembly is more or less Ikea-style. All inserting dowels into slots. Then some screwing. Just like Ikea.

Not only is this an excellent and well-documented Instructable, but you've saved yourself $1840 (plus tax)! Well played. Also, I rather enjoyed your slightly tongue-in-cheek writing, and I like how everyone in the comments is working on your centering issue. I think you'll be excited to hear that my solution to the problem involves an Arduino, distance-measuring lasers, and using a CNC router (or laser cutter) to construct parts of the linear actuators. It will be powered by a hacked computer PSU, and will use LEDs to notify you when your tabletop is in danger of falling off. I'm still working on getting it to e-mail you when the glass breaks...

A way to keep the top centered, is mount the trucks far enough outboard, so the outer wheel of each is sticking out 1/4 - 1/2 its width, and add a ring to increase the diameter of that part of each wheel. PVC pipe slices may work here. Or wrap tape a few dozen times, if you keep each tape wrap centered on the last wrap. Or put the wheels on a lathe, and cut down all but the part that will stick out by an 1/8" or so.

Just some quick advice for the frugal (and careful): 1. Buy the glass first Since the glass is easily the most expensive piece, buy it first. Then size your wood to match the glass. 2. Cut the interior angles first Size your three horizontal boards 8"-14" longer than the radius of your glass. Then cut the interior angles of all three, and test how they fit together before doing the exterior cut. The six 60 degree cuts will be the most difficult to get positioned and angled correctly. Doing them first, with some extra wood gives you room to redo them a couple of times without having to throw out your board. Once you're happy with the fit, and you have your dowel holes drilled, and the dowels mated up, measure the length to the square ends (based on the the diameter of the glass), and cut the square end. Remember measure twice, cut once, and use a square for all your lines. 3. Test your assembly before gluing or staining First, Make all the pilot holes for the bracing and the trucks, Then do a test assembly of the horizontal pieces of the table. Without glue, put in the dowels, and seat the bracket (don't over-tighten the screws). Then, flip over and attach the trucks. Then use the ratchet strap to temporarily hold everything together. Test the table by setting the top on it and verifying that it works to your satisfaction. 4. Stain and clear coat as next to last step After you're happy with the test assembly, remove all the hardware and prepare the wood for staining. Be sure to sand all the surfaces sufficiently to remove any contaminants (even the oil from your hands can disturb the stain). Pay special attention to exterior corners; be sure to sand them enough to remove sharp edges or rough spots. Next, stain the bottom faces first and after it dries, sand to remove any drips, and then stain the top surfaces (the experience staining the bottoms, will help you do a better job on the top. Repeat the process with the polyurethane clear coat. With everything perfectly measured, stained and finished. Carefully glue the joints in the middle, attach the bottom bracket, and use strap for glue to cure. After the glue is cured, attache the legs and the trucks.

Excellent work! One question, though, do the skateboard wheels have enough stickyness to keep the glass from moving if bumped? Would it be possible to drill the glass with a special bit and place an axle-like rod through the center?

It was definitely a fun project. The hardest part for me was the staining. I used Teak oil and I used to much after the first few coats and had a mess. I already had the trucks and wheels from old skateboards. I also had the glass top from a different table, even though I'd prefer a circle, it works.

Done! Thanks for sharing your photo. Man, I wanted to scavenge a tabletop for mine. Dropping more than the value of the trucks, wood, and fasteners on the glass was a tough pill to swallow. I dig the square look. I suspect the squared top would rotate nicely on a pentagonal+ base.

Well, for one thing, I'd upholster the wood in stuffed animal material. Rubberized wheels and a rim around the outside of the tabletop, also. Then I'd make it so the whole tabletop spins if you pump a foot pedal or flip a switch to activate an electric motor. Apart from those oversights, it's an okay project.

If you used the glass from an old patio table, it would already have that umbrella hole in it.. Then turning a fourth set of trucks on its side the one wheel could stick partway through to limit drift.. Plus those tables are fairly easy to find cheap. craigslist, freecycle, etc...

Very cool. Always nice to see a great reverse engineering job done well! Kudos!

If you can't remove the rotation eccentricity, an easy solution would be to grind a center hole and place a small shaft pin at the center of your table - a good holdfast for the whole glass plate that wouldn't be very visible. Plus you could actually use a skateboard wheel and bearing in a larger center hole if you wanted to up the skater vibe...

That's a good idea. Unfortunately, grinding a hole in a $90 piece of glass requires moxie that I'm afraid I don't have. I'd start with small fixes to see if they ameliorate the problem. Oil (or replace) the bearings. Tighten/loosen the trucks so they're even all around. Get a bigger piece of glass. Then I'd maybe consider mustering the courage to include a hub.

how about this. get a small lazy susan and put it in the center of the wooden part of your table the get a small cylindrical piece of wood and epoxy it to the lazy susan over the Y joint in the wood then Epoxy a Flat circular Magnet to the wood. Buy two Magnets then connect the magnet on the top side of the glass. Then glue some more cool skateboard stuff on top of that magnet as a center piece design. this sovles your problem with no drilling and it is not permanent. Here is a link for some cool magnets these are not the flat ones though. http://goo.gl/FKCTf.

here is a link to a flat one. this place will custom build you one. sweet. http://goo.gl/xG927

This may have been beaten to death already but to keep the glass centered how about buying 3 more truck/wheel combos and mount them to the side of the legs. Place them high enough so a wheel on the highest side acts as a bearing against the glass edge. You wouldn't have to worry about the glass wearing through a stationary retaining device and it sticks with the aesthetic.

That could be pretty neat and add to this idea by creating a different, busier design aesthetic.

And you could extend your idea as an alteration of wilgubeast's table by supporting the glass on side-mounted trucks:1. Cutting a square notch out of the outside edge or smooth grooves in the center of one wheel on each truck where the notch/groove is the width of the glass2. mounting the trucks on the side of the legs like you say so that the notched/grooved wheels are above the leg surface of the table3. Inserting the glass into the notches/grooves so that it rotates

This would certainly be more challenging and require more planning (like getting the glass first and building the table to fit), but it could definitely be an interesting, self-centering alternative. The obvious detraction is that the glass would be supported by only tiny points of three wheels rather than larger areas of six. That and the difficulty of accurately, cleanly cutting skateboard wheels and building the table to an exact size.

Pier 1 for the glass? Most glass stores would probably be a lot cheaper and also able to drill a center hole. I'm not sure of the cost for round glass but the glass companies near me (Pittsburgh) are pretty reasonable for glass with polished edges.

Yeah... there are much better options than Pier 1. But the Pier is one of those Anytown, USA type stores that most Americans can find next to the local Best Buy, Ross, and Red Lobster. (One of the design goals was the easy sourcing of all the materials.)

If specialty glass stores are significantly cheaper, though, I'd love to know what folks are charging for a 36" diameter 3/8" thick piece of glass.

I've worked in construction, decorating, woodworking and property management for years so I guess I might take it for granted that people know where to find "glass stores" haha. I have to go to the place near me in the next week or two so I will ask about the top and leave you a comment on the pricing.

To help keep it centered, what if you got either a thin piece of wood or plastic, say 1" wide and wrapped it around the outside edge of the glass with the majority of it hanging downward. Then f the glass went out of center, this strip would hit the wheels and push it back centered. The trucks would have to be set right at the edge of the glass however, not inset like you have.

Glue slightly different diameter tubing or one piece rod inside one piece tubing to glass & wood to keep glass top centered on support, simple, hopefully pretty, depending on selection of materials and care in applicaton. Could glue skateboard wheel with bearing to glass with suitable Dia. size bolt through center of support trimmed to ideal length for axle, no attachment, just drop on.

Doh!, now I think of it. Take the left over wheels, with their bearings, glue one wheel to the wood support , the other wheel to the center of the glass, cut rod or tube that fits in the bearings to appropriate length, drop parts togeather, done.

I feel like this could end with a lot of broken glass... maybe you could add a single bearing in the center connected to a big ol' suction cup. that way it wouldn't fall off and make your game of scrabble into some painfully stabby alphabet soup.

Nice table. I have a question related with the glass stability. How can I be sure that the glass will not get off the wheels if , let say, a kid decide to play turning it continuously? I wonder if ther is any kind of "stop" at the glass edge.Thanks

Maybe to help center. Put a bolt dead center with a wheel on top facing up (side wall up) find the center of the glass and put a mini suction cup there that would fit onto or kinda into the wheel hub? If that makes sense. A good enough suction cup will hold to the glass and keep it centered in the wheel. Besides the table top is more that likely tempered glass so there is no way you going to put a hole in it. Very nice table, 15 years ago I would have made this for my living room, now I think I might hurt myself with that in the house, haha.

Very nice.You mentioned that you had a bit of problems with centering . . .Why don't you just make a "cross" on the glass with masking tape (measured "cross") , and that center align with center of wood below , and that should be it . . . (at least i think so o_O )-Sry for bad english.-

Haha, I saw this table a couple of years ago in Future Perfect in Brooklyn and immediately thought "I could totally build that". Well done!

Although it raises ethical issues about ripping off some independent designer's creative idea, every time I go in that store I see so many items that would make awesome instructable projects. like:- http://thefutureperfect.com/detail.php?id=307- http://thefutureperfect.com/detail.php?id=340- http://thefutureperfect.com/detail.php?id=353

Love it!Definitely on my someday list.I will say from experience that a circular platform on three legs is less than stable when you put something heavy out near the edge between legs... but perhaps the glass is heavy enough it won't be a problem here. Why not make it with 4 legs? Since trucks usually come in pairs.